A way home
by ReSpawn
Summary: Weird things are happening to Eric..Please read and review
1. Peace disturbed

Disclaimer: A little while ago I had an idea for a story. It should be about this dead guy who comes back to revenge his and his girlfriend's death. "He should have supernatural powers." I thought. Too bad......I found out someone else had this idea earlier and copyrighted it. So I don't own these characters okay?!  
  
Chapter 1: Peace disturbed  
  
Eric's life had been easier the last two weeks. Sure, he still missed Shelly, and then there was this `dead' thing. The crow however didn't show himself and it seemed the city didn't have any problems that needed to be resolved. He passed his time by playing his guitar, or just by sitting on the floor looking at the broken glass in the window. Often Sarah came to visit him. That lifted his spirit for a while, but as soon as she left, Eric felt lonely and he often longed for death. Real death that is. Not the kind of dead he was now. He wanted to rest and be with Shelly forever.  
  
Winter was drawing nearer and the sky turned darker each day. Eric was playing his favourite tune, when he saw the big black bird flying into the room. "So my friend," he stated "it's been a long time." The crow had a piece of cloth in its beak. Eric took it in his hands and immediately got a vision.  
  
Albrecht walked into the room with his gun in his hand. He seemed nervous as a drop of sweat rolled down his face. Outside stood his car. Backup was on the way, but Albrecht couldn't wait for them. They had to drive across the city, and with this traffic, it could take at least half an hour. Albrecht continued his path, crossing the large room. It looked like an abandoned warehouse or factory. Albrecht now stood in the middle of the room. He looked up, and he froze. Half a dozen men aimed their rifles directly at him. Albrecht could do nothing but surrender and throw down his gun, and so he did. The seventh man walked into the room. He came through a door on the far end of the room. Albrecht knew this man. He had put him away for life. Or so he thought. "Hiya officer Albrecht," he said, "remember me?" "Yeah I remember you. Hoyle Crater. You raped and murdered sixteen women. How'd you get out of jail?!" Then everything went black as he got hit in the neck with the end of a  
rifle. When two of the men dragged him out of the room, Albrecht came to and tore a piece of his coat and dropped in on the ground.  
  
"So, it begins again." said Eric, and he walked towards the window. He could now hear the sirens of a squad police cars. Far away he saw their lights flashing blue against the buildings. "Too late boys." Eric mocked with a grim smile on his face " Now I'm on the case." In a way Eric was glad something happened. He didn't want to see Albrecht in trouble, but it would do him good to get out of his attic and walk the streets again. He looked for his coat and when he walked over to the door Sarah came in. "Going out?" she asked. "Albrecht's in trouble. Gotta help him." Eric answered. A troubled look came across Sarah's face. "Albrecht in trouble? Where...I mean, who.., what happened?" " I'll tell you on the way to the police station."  
  
They both left the room and went down the stairs. As soon as their feet touched the pavement Eric told the girl what he knew, but he didn't tell her what else he felt. When they left the building Eric almost instantly felt something pressing down on him. It was almost as if a great power had come to town. Eric somehow knew Albrecht's situation wasn't what it looked like. He felt something bad was coming, but he couldn't quite see what it was. People had succeeded before in deceiving him. Some had even come close to defeating the crow, because they had that good a plan. Anyway, those were worries for later. Now he had to find out who this `Hoyle Crater' guy is.  
  
Well this was kind of an intro. Let me know what you think and whether or not I should continue.... 


	2. Discoveries

Disclaimer: A little while ago I had an idea for a story. It should be about this dead guy who comes back to revenge his and his girlfriend's death. "He should have supernatural powers." I thought. Too bad......I found out someone else had this idea earlier and copyrighted it. So I don't own these characters okay?!  
  
Please let me know what you think by writing review. Thanx...  
  
Chapter 2: Discoveries  
  
They stood in front of the building. Squad cars came and went, their sirens cutting through the peace of the past two weeks. "..And it's not even full moon." Two cops came out of the police station talking about tonight. "Kinda busy don't you think Eric?" Sarah looked worried and stood close to Eric. She wasn't scared easily, but when even cops are frightened by a sudden outburst of crime, she can't keep her head up for long. "Yeah, but as long as they are out fighting crime, they can't get in our way when we look for some files now will they?" Eric smiled, but his eyes told a whole different story. Eric too was worried. Albrecht was just the first to be victim to a giant crime wave that began running through the city.  
  
As Sarah and Eric walked into the station, cops bumped into them, without even turning around to say sorry. Telephones were ringing constantly and the whole station seemed to be one big ant farm. Citizens sitting on benches and those who couldn't be seated walked around. A woman tried to get the desk clerk to help her, but he was badly overworked and told her to sit down or else she would get arrested. Darla was too busy to notice Sarah and her friend, so the two could easily enter the archives of the station. The man who usually guarded the files was called away only seconds before Eric and Sarah opened the door and entered the dusty chamber. It wasn't a really big room, and it was filled with cabinets to keep the files. "Oh man," Sarah sighed, "what the hell is going on tonight?" "Don't know, but it isn't good" Eric answered softly. His eyes looked for a cabinet the file of Hoyle Crater could be in. He found one that said "CONVICTIONS". He opened the drawer and was  
surprised how big it was. He pulled it out completely, and it stretched for almost two metres. In the drawer were the files, but instead of nicely organised they lay scrambled. "This could take a while," Eric stated, "If you have anything else to do, go do it and don't stay here. If not, I'd appreciate your company and assistance." Sarah got a smile on her face and lifted some files out the cabinet and dropped them on the table in the middle of the room. "Thanks Sarah." Eric also picked up some files and sat next to Sarah. They both began searching for the needle in the proverbial haystack.  
  
"Found it!" Sarah almost fell of her chair in the excitement. "Hoyle Crater right?" Eric nodded. "Hoyle Crater. Raped and murdered sixteen women, six years ago. Albrecht caught him and made sure he was put away for life. When he knew he had lost to Albrecht he shot himself in the leg and blamed Albrecht. Wow, he's not very bright now is he? Nobody would believe him and tests could easily reveal the truth." Sarah leaned back in the chair looking at Eric. He was listening with his eyes closed. "Eric? You awake?" Sarah now held her face in front of Eric's and plunged back in her chair when he suddenly opened his eyes and asked her to continue. "Where was I? Oh, right, he shot himself. He was given life and in court he swore to get back to Albrecht even if it was the last thing he did." Eric looked upset. "Well, his attempt to do so will be the last thing he'll do for all I'm concerned. But my greatest concern is how he escaped from prison. In what prison was he doing his time?"  
"Falcon prison in the north of the city. Should be the best in town. This shows what that's worth." Sarah mocked, but fully understood how serious the situation was. A hardened criminal escaped from prison and had it in for Albrecht. Their friend. "Does it say anything else?" Eric wondered. "Nope, nothing important." Sarah was surprised there was only one piece of paper in the file. Most criminals have a file that could be categorised as a book. Not those cheap paperbacks, but the real novels. Also the fact that there was so little information about this guy in his file worried Sarah. Eric however stayed cool and motioned Sarah to go to the door. He followed, leaving the files on the table. Both bumped into the security guard of the room, but neither he nor Eric said a word.  
  
"So where are we going now?" Sarah wondered. "I'm going to Falcon prison to ask about Crater." "No way Eric." Sarah interrupted him "No way you're doing this to me. You've got me involved already and now I've lived out my use, you're going to send me somewhere else? Sorry, won't work this time pal. Albrecht's my friend to and I will be careful." Sarah raised her voice when she said this and Eric looked confused, because he forgot that it was Sarah and not an ordinary girl he was talking to. "You didn't let me finish" he began "I'm going to Falcon prison to ask about Crater, and you go check out Albrecht's place and search for anything regarding this case. Wouldn't be the first time he kept his files at home. You have a key right?" "Right!" Sarah was excited to help Eric and a smile appeared on her face. She took off saying it and ran as fast as her legs could take her. Eric smiled and walked the other way.  
  
The guard at the gate of the prison halted Eric. "Whoa pal, what's your purpose here?" "I'm here to visit my bestest friend." Eric didn't know why he said that. Only the crow would make such mocking remarks, and then only before he kills or hurts someone. Also the grin on his face was not Eric's. "I mean, I'm here to do some research. If you could take me to the chief, I'd be grateful." The guard looked at Eric, frowned, and let him in. "When you get in, the office is to the left. Good luck." He let Eric pass and closed the gate. "Little thanks never hurt anyone." He said to himself. He followed with his eyes until he got in the prison.  
  
Eric got to the office and knocked. He was invited in and the warden motioned him to sit down. Eric asked the warden about Hoyle Crater and if it would be possible to take a look at his file. "You should talk to the archiver. He knows where all that stuff is, not me. Just take the stairs, archive's in the back. Can't miss it.  
  
Eric got to the archives and saw the archiver sitting in his chair. "What do you want?" He asked without looking up. "I want to take a look at a file of a prisoner here. Hoyle Crater's his name." "One moment.." The old man got out his chair and walked into the archive. The man must have been over seventy for his back was all crooked and his hair was almost completely gone. After a few minutes the man came back and he carried a large box. "Also brought his belongings, `cause I assume you're a cop or a family member. If you're not, I don't know what you want with the file of a dead man." Eric was surpised when he heared this. He sat down and started to go through Crater's file which was marked "DECEASED". The file said he cut his own throat with a plastic spoon. The picture was that of the man Eric saw in his vision. Suddenly Eric felt nauseous. This was new for him. Well, he got sick when he was alive, but he never got sick or nauseous since he came back as the crow. His head  
started pounding and he got dizzy. Before he understood what was going on, the Crow came to the surface and stood tall in the room. He walked over to the old man. "Enjoy your job?" he asked with his scraping voice and before the man could even look back to see who was talking to him, the Crow grabbed his head and broke his neck in an instant. Out of nowhere the big, black crow came flying and landed on the Crow's right shoulder. The Crow ran out of the prison and knocked down the gate Eric entered through yelling in a childish fashion "Can you open the gate please?. The guard was standing in front of it, and now he lay beneath it, knocked out. "Thank you!" The Crow exclamated and ran of. 


	3. Albrecht gets it

Disclaimer: A little while ago I had an idea for a story. It should be about this dead guy who comes back to revenge his and his girlfriend's death. "He should have supernatural powers." I thought. Too bad......I found out someone else had this idea earlier and copyrighted it. So I don't own these characters okay?!  
  
Please let me know what you think by writing review. Thanx...  
  
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Chapter 3: Albrecht gets it.  
  
Treated like an animal, Albrecht sat in a cage that hung from the sealing. Severely beaten, blood rushed down his face. It came from a wound just above his eye. It hurt like hell, and Albrecht was dizzy and confused. "What do you want Crater?" He asked desperately. "I want revenge. Doesn't everybody?" Crater sat in front of the cage in a comfortable chair. He had a glass of whisky in his hand. A grin on his face. "Do you know what it's like in prison? Everyday the same routine. Everyday the same excuse for food. I never forgot who put me there, and every day I swore that one day, one day I would get back to the one who did this to me. YOU!" "You criminals are all the same. Revenge is all you can think of. What about a life? Don't you want one?" Albrecht wanted to smile, but couldn't because of the pain. "Kinda late for that don't you think officer Albrecht? Since you put me in jail and all my chances for a life are gone. Now you mention it. I really don't have life anymore.  
In jail I met this guy. At first I wanted to get rid of him, because he got on my nerves. But then he told me of a way to get out of jail, and get you back for what you did to me. In return I had to complete a little task for him." "Yeah. What was that? Dress up like a girl and give him some sort of pleasure?" Now Albrecht laughed, although it hurt much. The idea alone gave him enough comfort. Crater just sat there and smiled. "No, officer Albrecht, something very much different than that. I would get out of jail and I had to find you. Once I did that, I should put some sort of lotion on your coat." Albrecht looked surprised. "The guy I had to do this for then wanted me to hide you in a warehouse. And so I did. Now we just have to wait for him to come here. Oh yeah, did I mention I got out of jail by killing myself? That was the only way, and I wanted to leave so bad. The guy said he could bring me back, and, whaddaya know? Here I am!"  
  
"Hey! Wake up!" Crater hit Albrecht with a bat. "He's here." Albrecht waited a while before he could sit up straight. When his eyes finally got used to the light in the room he saw Crater at the door. Crater's words of the night before still went round in his head. Albrecht didn't know if he had to believe him. Eric got back to life, so why should Crater be any different? He decided this would be answered very soon, because the two men came closer. Albrecht was shook up when he saw the other guy. He couldn't believe this was really happening and tried to remember if Crater had given him any kind of drug. The second man was Eric. Or, in fact, the Crow.  
  
"Well well well, officer Albrecht. Missed me?" The Crow walked around the cage, tapping it with his fingers. Everything he said, always with that sarcastic tone, was a punishment for Albrecht. For he knew, when Eric would lose control over the Crow, all is lost. It almost happened once before, when Eric got separated from the Crow, but that was different. The Crow was weakened then, because he was out of Eric's body. Now he was in it, and he had a lot more power in this state. "Let him out of the cage." The Crow motioned Crater to open the cage. "But he might try to escape." "Do you remember who got you out of jail? Open the cage and let him out!" The Crow now seemed agitated as he pointed at the cage. "But.." In one quick move the Crow ripped Crater's head of his body, and threw it away. "Can't find good help nowadays." He said calmly. The Crow opened the cage himself and let Albrecht out. "Eric, thank God you're here." "Eric? Ow, you mean the poor loser I took this body  
from. No, he's gone partner. Kinda like this body though. It's not fun if you are held back constantly, and only may surface and sink in again when `the master' likes it." When he said master he made a curling move with his index fingers to indicate inverted commas next to his head, and his tone went from sarcastic into mad. "No, I'm here to stay, and I like it this way. Change is good right? Well you can hardly say this isn't change."  
  
Albrecht now stood eye to eye with this figure of pure rage. He thought about a way to get to Eric, but he couldn't think of one thing that could be of any help. The Crow started moving around Albrecht the same way he walked around the cage. Intimidating his enemy, or prey even. He shook his head and kicked Albrecht in the knees. Albrecht immediately fell to the ground moaning. "What the hell are you doing?" He yelled with pain in his voice. "What did I do to you?" "Nothing. You did nothing to me. That doesn't mean I can't torture you, now does it?" A grin came across his face and he leaned down to Albrecht. "Let's just see how you get out of this one." The Crow now helped Albrecht up by pulling his hair, and immediately threw him away like someone disposing of garbage. Albrecht landed in a pile of boxes. They didn't break his fall much, but maybe just enough for him not to get killed by the landing. His legs however were now broken and he couldn't get up. Even when they  
weren't he'd probably couldn't either, because of the pain in his head. "Enough fun and games Officer Albrecht." The Crow now stood over him and he looked down. "I took the liberty of calling your police friends. I know you wouldn't say what actually happened here tonight. You wouldn't want to jeopardise your little friend Eric. I'll now leave it up to you to find out what happened to Eric and what you need to tell your cop buddies. I'm gonna leave now." He gave Albrecht a teasing kiss on the forehead and slapped his cheeks. Then he disappeared in his usual fashion followed by the black bird that was sitting by the roof the whole time. Five minutes later Albrecht heard sirens and ten minutes later policemen and women barged into the warehouse.  
  
"What the hell happened here?" Officer Black almost tripped over the headless body that lay in the middle of the room near the cage. Albrecht collected every ounce of strength in his body and he raised his arm hoping someone would see it. It took a while, but then Albrecht was rushed to the ambulance standing outside. Lots of people were asking him lots of questions, but he couldn't answer them. Because of the pain, but mostly because he didn't know the answers. He knew who did this to him, but he didn't know why or even how. As soon as he would get better, he would investigate this himself. No one had to know and Eric shouldn't get in trouble over this. The force would easily give up, because the trail ended right there in the warehouse. They only had found a guy that was dead before his head got ripped off and a severely beaten cop. The criminal who did this was nowhere to be found and didn't leave a trail that could be followed. The only hope of solving this case was  
lying in a hospital bed, and he would tell them he couldn't remember much except for Hoyle Crater, his kidnapper.  
  
Albrecht lay there in his bed on a drip. All sort of equipment stood next to his bed including a heart monitor. The beep was driving him mad, but he was glad the Crow didn't finish him of. "It was Eric, wasn't it?" Sarah stood in the doorway and looked worried. "Why do you think that" Albrecht knew Sarah couldn't be kept out of the loop, but he could always try. "I couldn't find him and then I heard about this guy who rushed out of jail after he had killed an old man there. He looked different. He entered a normal man, but when he left, he had this white face and he had extraordinary powers. Then I heard about you. I put two and two together and that's what I came up with." Sarah now stood next to Albrecht's bed looking down on him. Albrecht looked sad. "No, it wasn't Eric. The Crow did this to me, and it was the Crow who killed that man in jail." 


	4. Investigations

Disclaimer: Just look it up in one of the previous chapters. Saves me the trouble of writing it all the time.  
  
Please let me know what you think by writing review. Thanx...  
  
Chapter 4: Investigation  
  
Albrecht got out of the hospital after three weeks. His legs weren't as broken as they seemed at first and so he could walk a little with some supportive bandage and crutches. He didn't return home, as everyone would expect. Instead he went straight to the police station to investigate what happened. Sarah was there off course to help Albrecht with the research. First of all Albrecht wrote down what he still remembered of that night, before he would forget. For some reason the first thing to come back to him was something Crater said. "...I should put some sort of lotion on your coat." Instantly Albrecht grabbed his coat and rushed down to the lab. The trip involved a lot of stairs, and, in his condition, it took longer than usual. He had to get outside and walk a couple of metres to the far end of the courtyard. The air outside felt thin and it seemed something bad was going to happen. The three weeks Albrecht was gone, a lot had happened. Burglars were breaking in with  
great numbers, and, or so it seemed, they were organised. A lot of people were killed and policemen formed the greater half of those killed. A lot of the deceased policemen were Albrecht's friends and he felt guilty. He knew he couldn't have made a difference anyway, but the fact he wasn't there to back them up troubled him. The winter now began to rage, and snow covered the city. The sky turned grey and Albrecht limped as fast as he could towards the door of the lab. When he finally got inside, he felt relieved.  
  
Albrecht searched for the `labret' Gene Poe. "Hey! Gene! It's Albrecht, I need your help!" Albrecht felt stupid, for all he knew he was shouting to someone who wasn't there. Then Gene answered, and Albrecht shook off his discomfort. "One moment!" The sound came from a room in the back of the lab. A biohazard sign was put on that door, but Gene came out without any kind of protection against any kind of hazard. He only had a white lab coat to look `doctory'. Gene was a small man with a bald head. He was almost half Albrecht's size, but he gave the impression he could take on a lion anytime. "What is it Albrecht? Heard you just got out of the hospital, how are you?" "I'm fine Gene, thanks. I need you to look at my coat. I have reason to believe someone put something on it to drug me. I do know it was some kind of lotion, and it was on a piece that got torn off, so I suggest you look there first." Albrecht took off his coat and gave it to Gene. "Let me worry about my job, and  
you about yours. I'll take a look. Could take a while though, I'll give you a call when I find something or nothing." "Okay thanks Gene." Albrecht walked over to the door and stood in the doorway when Gene called for him. Albrecht turned around and looked at Gene. "Be careful all right?" "Sure thing Gene." Albrecht turned around and walked into the blizzard that had broken loose over the city.  
  
As soon as he got into the building again, Sarah walked over to him and dragged him to his office. "We both know him, don't you think?" She pointed at the television. On the screen they saw the Crow standing on a tall building with hundreds of crows surrounding him. They were circling around the top of the building he was on. One crow, his crow, sat on his shoulder. He was doing nothing but stand there, looking at the city, a smile on his face. "Oh my God! What is he up to?" Albrecht just stood there watching at the television with his mouth open of surprise. "I knew something was wrong with him, but this is kinda weird. Even for him." Sarah nodded approvingly, but said nothing and was completely focused on the television. Albrecht began walking around in the room, his hands on his head. He knew something had to be done to stop whatever the Crow was planning, but he just didn't know where to start. He thought about this for a couple of minutes when the phone rang. Sarah  
picked it up for she was closest to it. "Yeah..Yes he's here. Right, I'll tell him. Thank you." Sarah put the phone on the hook and turned to Albrecht. "Gene finished the tests and wants you to come over. Can I come?" Albrecht put his hands in the air to show it was all right with him and they both walked out the door.  
  
Their hair was all white when they got to the lab. Quickly Albrecht pushed the door shut to prevent too much heat from escaping the room. Some notes were blown through the room. "Ah, you're here. Hi Sarah." "Hi gene. Long time no see" Sarah smiled. "Yes, well, the substance on your coat seemed nothing more than a sedative at first. But I ran more tests and I found out there was another drug I had never seen before. It isn't airborne, so they didn't put it on your coat to drug you. I took some of the mixture and injected it in a rat. And, well, see for yourself." They walked over to the other end of the room and gathered around the cage. The rat was running around, jumping against the bars and biting his own tail. "As you can see, the critter has gone completely mad. The very instant I injected it with the substance it turned all weird." Sarah and Albrecht both looked with awe at the little rat. "But why did they put it on Albrecht's coat then?" Sarah turned to Gene. "I don't  
know. Unless they were planning on stuffing someone with it, I have no idea. I'll try to find an antidote for it anyway. Might prove useful someday." Gene wrote something down in his little notebook he kept in his breast pocket. "Sooner than you'd think I guess." Sarah looked at Albrecht with questioning eyes. Albrecht looked back and Sarah understood it couldn't be discussed here. Albrecht got his coat and motioned Sarah to the door. "Keep working on that antidote Gene. I'll be back soon." And the duo ran out the door as quickly as possible. Albrecht's legs hurt, but he wanted to continue to help Eric. He decided to forget about the pain and to commit himself to this case. Officially Albrecht wasn't even on duty, so he could dedicate all of his time on this job.  
  
"What the hell did you mean back there? Is Eric infected with that stuff?" As soon as Albrecht got into his office this little fourteen-year-old girl began yelling at him. "Why didn't you tell me from the start? Didn't you think I could handle it? The only thing I can't handle is you holding things back for me! Especially when they involve Eric." She gave Albrecht the angry look and sat down. "You finished?" "No, just catching my breath, I'll continue being mad at you in a minute." Albrecht smiled carefully. "I didn't tell you, because I wanted to know for sure. I did take you to Gene didn't I? Wouldn't have done that if I didn't want you to know anything about this." Albrecht touched the little girl's chin and lifted it up to look in her eyes. "Now, would I?" "I guess not." Sarah shook her head to get rid of Albrecht's fingers. "I want to help Eric, but I can't do it alone. What would you say to be my partner on this one?" Sarah smiled. "Sure!" "All right then, our first  
job is to find something to eat. Want to order in?" Albrecht reached for the phone book, but Sarah stopped him. "I feel more like hot dogs right now." Sarah took her coat and already she ran out the office. "You're buying!" Albrecht laughed, took his coat and crutches and followed Sarah out.  
  
They walked down the street towards their favourite hotdog `restaurant' which in fact was nothing more than a hotdog cart with a glass tent around it. Nonetheless they liked the place. No one was inside when they got there except for the salesman. He seemed depressed, but looked less depressed when he saw the duo approaching him. "Hi Harry, how's it going?" Sarah slapped the guy's hand and sat down on a stool. "Not very good. Business is slow around here. Probably all those criminals on the loose. Wow Albrecht, what happened to you?" "It's a long story Harry. I'm gonna have to tell you sometime later." Harry nodded and started making the usual hotdog for both.  
  
They were enjoying their food, when suddenly a little bird landed on a fence outside. It must have been one of the none-migrating species. It started singing loudly while it hopped around on the fence. Albrecht and Sarah looked at the little critter, without knowing exactly why. Suddenly another bird made a noise. This wasn't the song of a cute little bird, but the sound of a crow. The big bird came down with amazing speed and was aimed directly at the little bird. The little bird had no idea of its situation, and continued its song. In a second the crow had landed on the little bird and started pecking out its eyes. Before Albrecht or Sarah could do anything, the big black bird took off and flew towards the big building the Crow was still standing on, and rejoined the circle. Albrecht and Sarah had lost their appetites, and went back to the police station as soon as they had paid Harry for the food. It started snowing again and the evening was falling. 


	5. A gift from heaven

Disclaimer: Just look it up in one of the previous chapters. Saves me the trouble of writing it all the time.  
  
Please let me know what you think by writing review. Thanx...  
  
Chapter 5: A gift from heaven  
  
Shelly walked around barefoot. She had never left the bridge hoping to be rejoined with Eric one day. Every day hope seemed to slip away, but she refused to give it up and pass on. Shelly wanted to wait for Eric, even though he might never come to her again. She knew that, if she would pass on, she could watch Eric from above, but she didn't want that. She didn't want to observe helplessly the one she really loved. She wanted to be with him, and nothing else. The wind touched the green leafs of the trees, slightly moving them up and down. The sky was blue as always and not one cloud drifted by. The water under the bridge rippled and went down the waterfall at the end of the river. The waves in the water suddenly seemed bigger than usual. The wind now carried whispers. Shelly listened to what they said, but she couldn't understand the words. Usually the whispers would tell Shelly to move on, and to walk into the light. Shelly refused those voices and stayed near the bridge.  
These whispers were different. They now became louder and they sounded like real voices. Shelly could pick some of them out and listened to their words. The words were separated by high shrieking noises and it seemed a dozen voices said the same thing at once. "Leave....In trouble...Mad....Eric..." These words troubled Shelly. Especially because she wasn't able to verify something was wrong with Eric. Even if she could, she wouldn't be able to help him. She felt tortured by the people that lived in the light. Shelly thought they only said this to persuade her to come to them in the light. She wanted to scream. Scream she wouldn't come to them before she got together with Eric. Instead she didn't say anything. She just looked at the bridge and at the point Eric vanished. She sat down on a rock near the end of the bridge and put her head in her hands. She didn't weep, but she was sad. She thought about Eric and how he had made her happy. More and more she believed they were  
meant for each other. That their being together was part of a bigger plan. But then she wondered why they had deserved this cruel a fate. The answers wouldn't come until they were back together again.  
  
Shelly sat there for hours when she felt change. She looked up and saw a light, which seemed different than the other light that called for her. It was more like a rift and it got bigger. When it reached up to Shelly's chin, it stopped expanding. A small child came walking out and looked up. The kid smiled and walked towards the bridge. Shelly was amazed and she didn't move at first. "Come." The little child put out his hand and reached for Shelly's arm. His face was that of an innocent little human being. His hair curled down his neck and touched his shoulders. He couldn't be over eight years old, seen his posture and height. Shelly now walked over to the boy and took his hand. They both walked over the bridge and stopped precisely at the middle. The little boy motioned Shelly to look down. At the exact spot Eric disappeared, a rift, like the one the boy came out of, opened. "Your friend is in trouble. You can go and help him if you want, but be careful. You will have to  
become like him. Otherwise you cannot understand what he's doing. Once you save him, you have to come back, or else you have to stay on earth forever." The little boy said this without raising his head to look at Shelly. "If becoming a Crow like Eric helps him, then that's what I want to do. Will Eric join me after this is over?" Shelly looked at the child with hope in her eyes. This was the first time in a long while Shelly really felt she and Eric would be together at last. "I cannot say he will. Maybe, when his time has come to pass on, he will join you after this. It's not up to me to make decisions about that. You must hurry now, because the road to earth is a painful and difficult one. Eric can still be saved, but every minute it becomes more difficult to help him. When you wait much longer, no one can help him, and he will be doomed to drift the earth forever. Now, go!" Shelly looked around the scenery. She was going to leave the place that had been her home for many  
years. Shelly thought about all the good times Eric and she had, and she jumped of the bridge into the rift.  
  
She found herself in a dark room. She stood on a platform in a room of emptiness. She didn't know what to do. "Hello? Is someone there?" She tried to see past the darkness that surrounded her, but she couldn't see anything that could help her. Suddenly the room became brighter. Shades of red and orange filled her eyes. She looked down and saw she wasn't wearing her dress anymore. A strange black outfit had formed around her body, but it felt comfortable, so Shelly didn't pay it much attention. Her eyes looked up and saw a very strange phenomenon. Thousands of small vortexes rose from the red-orange floor and went up to what appeared to be the top of the room. For as far as the eye could see little vortexes originated from the floor and went up. Shelly normally would stay to admire the beauty of this spectacle, but there were more important things to do. She started walking, avoiding any contact with the vortexes, because she didn't know what they would do to her. When she  
had walked for a couple of hours she started to get tired. She wanted to sit down, but her heart told her to keep moving for Eric's sake, and so she did. After a while Shelly decided to take a closer look at one of the vortexes. She walked over to one on her left. Her face was only inches away from its surface when, instantly, all the little vortexes disappeared. Shelly was startled and fell back. As she lay there on the floor, she heard a loud noise. Right in front of her the ground began to shake. Suddenly a huge vortex came jumping out of the ground and pierced its way through the roof. A bright light came out of the hole the vortex had made. Shelly was still lying on the ground and she was too shook up to stand. The vortex disappeared after a while and a spiral stairway replaced it. Shelly got up and walked over to it. She looked at it with question in her eyes. She didn't know whether or not to climb these stairs. Then she felt something familiar calling her. She put  
her foot on the first step and then she began the great climb towards the hole in the roof.  
  
On a graveyard near the city, a big black crow flew to a gravestone. There were two identical gravestones next to each other. One of them had the name `Eric Draven' on it. The other said `Shelly Webster'. The big bird landed on that one and looked down. Lightning lit the sky and the snow turned into rain. The crow shrieked and looked up. A hand came out of the soil under the gravestone. It reached out in the air for someone to lift it up. No one came to help, so it began to push away the dirt. Another hand appeared and soon a whole body. Dressed in black, the figure stood tall and the crow sat down on her shoulder. Shelly was back on earth, but was still a bit confused. Her head was pointed down and her eyes searched the ground. They stopped looking at Eric's gravestone next to Shelly's. "We will be together again." Shelly's voice was hoarse and filled with pain and sorrow. Shelly ran off, the crow following her. She went to their apartment. She had to know what had happened  
all the time she was gone.  
  
She got to the apartment and opened the door. The strips were still on the door. "do not cross, police line." And "Crime scene" were painted black on yellow and covered the door completely. Shelly came in and was surprised when she saw nothing had been changed by Eric. Everything was exactly the same. She picked up a blanket from the floor and she got her first vision. All the pain Eric had been in and everything he had done when Shelly was gone flashed in her head. When the vision ended, Shelly knew everything. Her face had changed. She looked like the Crow himself. Her face completely white, her lips and eyes black. "We will be together again. I know it!" Shelly looked out the broken window at the black sky. Her crow flew in and landed on the table next to her. Shelly ran towards the door and into the hallway. The crow followed her instantly. 


	6. Old friends

Disclaimer: Just look it up in one of the previous chapters. Saves me the trouble of writing it all the time.  
  
Please let me know what you think by writing review. Thanx...  
  
Chapter 6: Old friends  
  
Sarah sat in front of the television. She couldn't think of anything else to do right now, but to wait for Gene with the antidote. She had asked Albrecht for a cup of coffee, but he refused to give it to her. "You're to young to begin with this stuff." He said. So now she just sat there in the chair with a bottle of lemonade. Albrecht however did have a cup of coffee and sipped it slowly. He went through some files regarding Mr. Crater to find out what his relation was with the Crow, but he couldn't find anything. Probably the Crow did his `appearing, disappearing' thing in prison, before anyone could find out he was even there. How he brought Crater back to life was a bigger mystery that needed to be solved. He took off his glasses and started nibbling the end. He lifted his head and looked at the television. The picture hadn't changed and the Crow still just stood there with birds circling around him. He looked at Sarah, and smiled. But then his smile disappeared and he  
looked very worried. It seemed Sarah was frightened of something, but he didn't know what exactly. Sarah looked at the door, and so did Albrecht. He was very surprised when he saw this woman standing in the doorway dressed completely in black. "Hi. It's been a while." And Shelly walked into the room.  
  
Sarah jumped up and ran towards Shelly. She hugged her and started crying. Shelly put her hand on Sarah's head and stroked her hair. With a child around her waste, she started to talk to Albrecht who was sitting stunned in his chair. He just looked at Shelly and still couldn't believe it was really her standing in front of him. "Unless I'm mistaken..You're Shelly Webster, right? I hate to be rude, but aren't you dead?" Shelly smiled "I was dead officer Albrecht, but when I heard Eric was in trouble I came back." "Are you one of them crows?" Albrecht moved his hands through the air to indicate crows are birds. "I am afraid so. It's supposed to help me understand Eric's condition, or so I'm told." Shelly looked down and sighed. "Officer Albrecht, I never got the chance to thank you. You sat by me the whole time in the hospital. I was a complete stranger to you, yet you cared. I can't thank you enough for what you did, but I hope I can repay you one day." Albrecht didn't know  
what to say, so he said nothing. He just smiled and nodded. Sarah now spoke without lifting her head so Shelly's body dampened the sound. "How did you come back? Wha..What can you do here, `cause Eric's gone completely mad. Or, should I say, the Crow has." Sarah looked up to Shelly. Shelly shook her head, indicating she had no idea on how to help him. "I was hoping you guys had found something that could be of any use, but I take it you haven't." Albrecht looked at Shelly, sighed and shook his head. "Eric has probably been infected with something. That's why the Crow has taken over his body is our guess. I took some of the stuff to the lab. They're working on some sort of antidote this very moment. That's our only hope of getting rid of the Crow, because he has proven time and again, bullets can't harm him." Albrecht walked over to Shelly and touched her shoulder. He looked at her and smiled. Then he looked at Sarah. The girl had let go of Shelly and was nodding off in her  
chair. "I'm gonna take Sarah home, and then I'll get back here. I don't know if you want to stay, but I wouldn't mind." Shelly looked at Albrecht with a friendly face and shook his hand. "As much as I'd like to stay and talk to you, there are more pressing matters that need my attention. I'm going to try to talk to Eric or the Crow. Whichever one will talk to me. Don't worry about me. He can't kill me, and I'm not only saying this because I'm already dead, but because Eric loves me and he wouldn't let anything happen to me." Before Albrecht could do or say anything Shelly had disappeared. "I hate it when people do that!" He woke Sarah and they walked to Albrecht's car. Albrecht had expected more of an argument when he said he would take Sarah home. Instead, Sarah agreed to get some rest, and come back to the office tomorrow.  
  
The car pulled up the driveway of Sarah's home making a lot of noise. Albrecht's car was an old one, but it took him where he had to be, so he decided he didn't need a new one. As Albrecht and Sarah walked to the door, they saw something wasn't right. The door was forced open and noises originated from inside of the house. Albrecht motioned Sarah to go sit inside the car. "Call for backup." Albrecht pulled out his gun and slowly walked over to the door. He heard two voices discussing what they should and shouldn't take with them. "Do you really think you can drag that TV all the way home? For once, let me do the thinking all right? We have to look for jewellery or money." "Can I at least take the VCR?" "No! No TV, no VCR, no friggin' washing machine! Just money and jewellery!" Albrecht stood in the hallway, ready to barge into the room and arrest those punks, when one of the guys crossed the hallway to search for other valuables. He stopped in the middle of his crossing and  
slowly turned his head to look at Albrecht. He knew what his chances were against a gun and he did the right thing. He put his hands up and moved himself face down on the floor. Albrecht cuffed him, without saying a word and he advised the burglar to do the same by putting his index finger in front of his mouth. "Hey Andy, how about this thi...uh-oh." The other burglar felt the cold steel of Albrecht's gun against his head. He started to wet himself and immediately Albrecht pushed him outside and motioned the other one to follow in his footsteps. A police car stopped in front of the house as the two burglars came out. Albrecht explained the situation and the two were taken into custody. "I guess this means I won't sleep at home tonight." Sarah leaned on the roof of the car. "You can stay at my place if you want to. I'm going back to the office anyway, so you can sleep peacefully." Albrecht had taken out the keys to his car and sat down behind the wheel. "Fine with me." Sarah  
also sat down and closed the door.  
  
Albrecht's house was just a few miles from Sarah's and they got there soon. Albrecht opened the door and walked in followed closely by Sarah. He turned on the light and went into the living room. He pointed at the sofa. "You can sleep here if you want. It's more comfortable than my bed." Sarah tried it out and nodded. Albrecht grabbed a blanket from under the sofa and spread it over Sarah who was now lying down. She closed her eyes and drifted off. Albrecht left the lights on and walked towards the door. "Could you tell Darla I'm here? She probably didn't even think of me at all, but tell her anyway." Sarah didn't look up or even opened her eyes. "Will do." Albrecht closed the door and locked it.  
  
On his way back to the office, Albrecht noticed the sky was acting weird. Although it was night, it seemed darker than usual. Clouds now blocked the moon entirely and the darkness was spreading rapidly. The strange darkness appeared to be originating from a very tall building in the centre of the city. The building the Crow was standing on to be precise. "It just keeps getting weirder and weirder." Albrecht was talking to himself and when he noticed he did, he slapped himself gently on his cheek. He thought it was a bad habit. 


	7. Divine intervention

Disclaimer: Just look it up in one of the previous chapters. Saves me the trouble of writing it all the time.  
  
Please let me know what you think by writing review. Thanx...  
  
Chapter 7: Divine intervention  
  
The Crow looked down on the city. The birds were still circling the building. Never would they stop to rest or even to drink or eat. The Crow had full control over his creatures and told them to wait for further orders, and so they did. The sky above him was darker than the rest of it. The darkness seemed to spread over the city in an expanding circle. The Crow had extraordinary powers, but no one had ever seen his full power. The martial arts were only a fraction of the things the Crow could do. The Crow was concentrating. Probably he was charging himself to do something very bad. Suddenly he seemed to lose his concentration and he looked up. He turned around and saw a man standing behind him. Or, at least he thought it was a man, because it was dark and the figure was standing on the other end of the roof. As the figure approached, the Crow kept looking at it. "What are you doing my son?" A hoarse and low voice came from the man. The man walked further and halted a metre  
from the Crow, which was looking at the man with eyes filled with rage. "Ain't nobody's son anymore pal." The Crow intended to attack the man immediately, but couldn't. Why, he did not know, but something was holding him back. "I like your fighting spirit. Always have actually." The man was quite visible now and the Crow investigated every inch of his body. It was a tall man, wearing a long black raincoat. A black goatee covered his chin and long black hair fell on his shoulders. His eyes were black as the night. Not just the pupils, but his eyes were completely black. "So who are you? The sandman?" The Crow couldn't stand the looks of this guy, but was unable to do anything, which made him even angrier. The man laughed and looked at the crows flying beneath them. The Crow followed after his example and looked down also. The man raised his hand and immediately all of the crows flew up and started circling above him. The Crow was dazzled and just looked at the man. The man  
now made a fist and pointed it at the centre of the birds. The circle widened and one bird, the biggest of all, came flying down and landed on his shoulder. "I'm not the sandman. I'm the creator of the crows, and therefore I am your father in a sense. You can call me Karákas"  
  
The two figures on top of the building stood face to face. Exchanging one challenging look for another, saying nothing. "For ages crows have been the messengers of the dead. They bring their souls to the land of the dead and make sure they are kept there. Unfortunately I gave the crows feelings. They could feel sorry for humans when they died, and bring them back to life. They cannot see the consequences however. In your case, your immense power has over all been used for good. Now you lost control over your crow-half, and his complete power has been released. How this could happen, even I do not know." Somehow Karákas could get through to Eric's mind. Although it was trapped inside the Crow, it was still there and very much alive, it just couldn't get out. "You stay out of my head pal, or dad, or whatever! You can't help him now. I'm in the driver's seat, and I like it this way!" The Crow pointed at Karákas and his voice was filled with rage. "You're right, I can't help  
him, but I brought back someone who can. She should be here shortly, but I will be gone by then. You can't touch me, and I can't touch you, so it's futile for me to stay here much longer, especially because you won't reason with me." Karákas turned his back on the Crow and slowly walked away. "You'll find her a worthy adversary." He smiled and then disappeared. His bird flew back to join the circle. The Crow was furious and screamed. Thunder and lightning came out of the clouds directly above him. The lightning struck the building and even the Crow, but it didn't harm him, rather, it powered him up, as he seemed stronger every time it struck. He screamed again and fell to his knees, breathing heavily. His anger only grew and his face was twisted with it. The lightning ceased and it was quiet again. A smile appeared on the Crow's face. A sarcastic, twisted smile, which turned into a demonic laugh. "No one can stop me! I cannot be defeated! I'm a GOD!" He had completely lost  
it and it seemed all hope was gone for Eric to ever take over control of his own body.  
  
Shelly felt something was wrong. She looked up at the sky and saw the darkness covering the city. She knew she had to hurry if she ever wanted to be together with Eric again. Her Crow-self came to the surface, but, unlike Eric, she was in complete control. In this form she could travel a lot faster and she was drawn to the crows, circling the building. A man came out of nowhere and stood before her. Shelly immediately stopped and looked at him. "Hello Shelly." "How do you know who I am?" Shelly was surprised. "It's a long story, but let's say I made you and Eric. I'm Karákas and I have come to warn you. The task you were sent here to do is a dangerous one, and you will not be able to save both of you. Eric's beyond any help now. The Crow has taken over completely and there's no way I know of to exorcise him. The battle you are about to begin will be a fight to the death. Only one of you can survive. The other one will be brought back to the land of the dead. I have given you  
extra power as to make it easier for you to defeat him." Shelly was confused and shook her head. "You can't expect of me to kill the one I love! There must be another way. Albrecht is working on a cure fir him. Can't that be of help?" "Albrecht? Haven't heard of him, but I think it's worth a shot. Everything can help, but I think it's too late." Karákas disappeared as suddenly as he came, and Shelly stood alone. Thinking about what she could do and should do, she continued her path towards the building and Eric. 


	8. Interlude

Disclaimer: Just look it up in one of the previous chapters. Saves me the trouble of writing it all the time.  
  
Please let me know what you think by writing review. Thanx...  
  
This one's kinda short, but I wanted to create a picture of all the characters and their thoughts. I don't know what this will do to the story, maybe it will destroy the mood completely, but I wrote it, so I'm posting it. Tell me what you think and maybe I can change it, or erase it completely.  
  
Chapter 8: Interlude  
  
The rain fell down on the city. It washed away the snow, leaving mud and puddles. People ran for shelter like antelopes run for their lives when a lion threatens the herd. Little children got caught in the crowd, slowly being led away from their mothers who, desperately, tried to find them again. Cars speeding like mad to get home early, causing more accidents one could possibly imagine, which caused them to be home even later. It was like the mass knew, deep down, their faith would be decided soon, almost like a sixth sense. The sky turned darker every second, pulling out a large blanket over the city. Streetlights didn't illuminate the streets, rather, they just stood there, helping the darkness get a hold of the city.  
  
In the middle of the darkness stood a figure. Not knowing why, he smiled. His brain was completely corrupted by the evil that rested within. The darkness not only the visual aspect of his power, but also the rage brought to life. He wanted the people to know he was there, and he wanted them to be afraid of him. In this he had succeeded and he took comfort in that, knowing he could easily make an end to this. He didn't care for the lives he would end or had already ended. His goal was purely that of a madman. He didn't know what he wanted to do. His power had even overwhelmed him, and now it had taken him over completely. Not any being, human or else, should have this kind of power. Only true gods could wield it and, needless to say, this figure wasn't a god. Just a victim. No matter what other people would think, this figure, or at least the person inside, had suffered great injustice. He was put back on earth to set things right. He had to avenge the crimes committed  
against him and his girlfriend. Now however, he had no real goals but to be reunited with the one he loved. He longed for death more than ever, and now it seemed to get closer every minute. He just waited for something to happen. Looking down, laughing at the people, watching his birds, commanding them to wait. Always a grin on his white face.  
  
His counterpart, a beautiful young woman, ran towards him. Her face white like his, but she didn't have his rage. She was in complete control and thought about things. She was however sad too. The one she loved had turned into a cruel animal, and her fate was not that different. She had to kill him in order to save the people on the street. She would become the shepherd and the people the sheep. She didn't know if she could kill him once they would stand face to face. Her love for him might interfere with her common sense and lead to her demise. Then he'd still be free to kill innocent people, and her quest would have failed. She knew she had to be strong. She could not abandon her task and leave the people at his mercy, even if that meant killing the one she loved. She ran on, not bothered by the rain that fell from the black sky. Her legs were going as fast as they could, and they would not get tired. The distance to her rival got smaller and she was getting ready to  
battle him.  
  
Caught between the mass hysteria and the inhuman creatures were two human beings. An older man with dark skin sat at his desk at the police station. Waiting for that one phone call with good news. It took much longer than expected and, therefore, he just walked around, sat down, stood up again...He became friends with the creature that now threatened the city a while ago. The human part of it that is. He felt sorry for him and was afraid help would come too late. He couldn't stand not being able to do something right now. He felt he wasn't a good friend anymore, and every minute that feeling grew stronger. For now, he just had to look after the little girl that walked around in his office. He took comfort in knowing he could probably be a good friend to her. He would never let her down and he wouldn't let anything happen to her. This girl had been friends with Eric and Shelly before they died and came back. Even after Eric came back she was his friend. Now, that seemed  
ancient history. She was sad, because she knew he wouldn't be on this earth forever. She knew that from the start, but after he came back, she wasn't sure about a lot of things. The coming back of Shelly was an even greater torture for her, because she had to say goodbye to her very soon as well. Many questions went around in her head, but she couldn't answer any of them, and no one could answer them for her. 


	9. Clash of two alike souls

Disclaimer: Just look it up in one of the previous chapters. Saves me the trouble of writing it all the time.  
  
Please let me know what you think by writing review. Thanx…  
  
Chapter 9: Clash of two alike souls.  
  
Shelly stood at the bottom of the building, looking up. The rain was pouring down on her face, but she felt comfortable with it. It had been a long time since she last felt rain, and she had almost forgotten what it felt like. Even though she knew every second counted, she stopped thinking about her task on earth for a moment to enjoy the rain. She quietly walked into the building, which was deserted. The people that normally would run around here, were caught in the hysteria of the mass, and fled the building like rats flee from a sinking ship. Computers were left on, lunches were thrown down half eaten. It was like everyone disappeared, but Shelly knew better. She walked over to the elevator and pushed the button to make it come down. Apparently it had to come all the way from the roof, because it took the elevator nearly two minutes to get to the ground floor. The doors opened, and a little 'ping' indicated it was safe to get in. Shelly hesitated for a brief moment, but then she entered and the doors closed behind her. There was no turning back as she pushed the button for the roof floor. She was prepared to do anything necessary to stop the Crow from causing any more damage, even if that meant killing it and Eric with it.  
  
The elevator doors opened and Shelly walked out the elevator slowly, looking for the creature that was once her lover. She walked over to the edge of the roof. She looked over the city. Everywhere were little fires and sirens sounded almost constantly. The city was covered with darkness and the fires coloured it red. Suddenly Shelly felt something that made her turn around. "Well, well, well. The little woman has come to stop me." On the concrete case of the elevator squatted the Crow. Shelly didn't walk towards him, instead she took a pose ready to fight. The Crow jumped down from the little case and landed right in front of her. "Do you really think you can stop me? If you do, you're as crazy as our daddy." He laughed and inspected Shelly with his eyes. Starting with her face, that was normal again, and slowly going down her body. "What have you done to Eric?" Shelly was surprisingly calm. Even she thought it would be harder to stand face to face with this…thing. She knew this wasn't Eric and that made it easier for her to face the Crow. Her eyes however told the true story. She was heartbroken to see this creature in Eric's body. She also found strength in knowing that Eric wouldn't want to live this way. She would be the one to release him from his prison and to bring him to the land of the dead. The Crow started to walk around her, never taking his eyes off her. "Eric got tired. I took over the body until he's rested. I shouldn't wait for that if I were you, it could take a long time, before that happens." A grin appeared on his face. "You can do me if you want. I know Eric enjoyed it."  
  
Shelly's face turned white and she struck the Crow with such force, he got knocked back. "Sorry, I'm a one-man girl." She tilted her head a little when she said that and she walked over to the Crow. He was still lying on the ground, confused by the strength of this woman. Soon he got up and ran towards her. He jumped up, about ten yards from her, and landed behind her. Immediately he kicked her in the back and she fell to the ground. With incredible speed he tried to kick her in the head, but she grabbed his foot and threw him in the air. She jumped back on her feet and waited for his next attack. He landed on his feet and sped to his rival. Quick punches aimed at her head were easily blocked and his kicks never landed on her. Her speed was far more superior to his, and there was no way of winning for him. He couldn't see that however, and fought on. Shelly did nothing but block and dodge. She could finish this fight at any given time, but somehow she couldn't bring herself to doing it. She was just buying Albrecht and Sarah time to get there with the antidote. She didn't want to finish him before they had tried everything. 


	10. The cure is on its way

Disclaimer: Just look it up in one of the previous chapters. Saves me the trouble of writing it all the time.  
  
Please let me know what you think by writing review. Thanx…  
  
Chapter 10: The cure is on its way.  
  
At last, the phone rang, and the liberating call came. Albrecht answered it immediately. "Yeah?" "Hey, Albrecht, I got the antidote. Do you want to bring in the subject, or do you want me to put it in some vials for ya?" A smile came across Albrecht's face and he seemed relieved. "Yes..Ehh..Put it in some vials, I'll take it to him." Sarah sat in front of the television, but overheard Albrecht's conversation. "So were going to get it to Eric?" She ran out of the office to get the antidote. Albrecht just stood there, wondering how they would get the Crow to take the antidote. A few seconds later Sarah's head appeared in the doorway. "Are you coming or what?" and she took of again. Albrecht now followed her to the lab. Outside, thunder and lightning came every few seconds.  
  
"Ah, good, you're here." Gene was still wearing his lab coat. "I've put it in three vials for you, that should be enough to cure an elephant, but you never know right?" Gene smiled and started putting the vials in a little black wallet. "I can make some more, if that should be necessary." Without waiting for an answer, Gene left the room, but came back a minute later with some empty test tubes. "Isn't necessary Gene, but thanks." Albrecht had already taken the wallet with the vials and he and Sarah walked towards the door. "How's the limp?" Albrecht turned around and saw Gene standing with his glasses low on his nose. "It's hell Gene. It's hell." "You be careful all right? Would be a shame to lose you." Albrecht walked to the door again with his head down. "I will." But Albrecht knew this night might very well be his last. He had to stop the Crow, no matter what. And what if Shelly had failed, and she couldn't handle the Crow? Then it would be up to him to save the city. He laughed at that thought. He wasn't a hero, never was, although other people thought so. He just did what he had to do and nothing more. The title 'hero' wasn't for him, he thought. Now he had to look after Sarah, and he didn't know yet how to tell her she couldn't come with him to save Eric. That would be the most difficult.  
  
Instead of going back to the office, Albrecht went to the helicopter-hangar of the police station. He told Sarah to wait in his office, but he might as well said that to a brick wall, because she didn't listen and followed him. The hangar was filled with armed men. Some were running to the choppers, some were guarding them. Albrecht could just get hold of one to ask what was going on. "Were going to that madman we saw on the news sir. He seems to be the cause of…well…of whatever is going on. We got orders to stop him at all cost." "Wo-ho-ho..You're saying you're going to shoot at him?" "Indeed I am sir. Now let go of my arm, or I will have to remove it for you." Albrecht let go of his arm and walked over to the hangar-chief. "Charlie. You've got to let me have a chopper." The man just looked at Albrecht very calmly and continued writing a rapport. "Do I look like a rental service?" Albrecht got angry, but hid it well. "Look, it's a matter of life and death Charlie. I can save a man's life and all of ours with it. You just have to give me a chopper with a pilot." Albrecht's eyes were practically begging and his tone of voice wasn't any different. "Albrecht. I just can't okay? I don't make that decision, the big bosses from upstairs do." Albrecht got really angry and started pointing at Charlie. He wanted to go berserk, but he held it back and just walked away, still followed by Sarah. Funny enough, she hadn't said anything since they went for Eric's cure. Probably she felt the pressure of Albrecht's task, and she obviously was worried about Eric.  
  
"So I can't come?" Sarah had tears in her eyes. "No Sarah, I won't let you take that risk. I might get killed, and we can't have you dieing too." Albrecht had just decided he would go alone to stop the Crow. He would just go to the building and somehow get the cure to Eric. Hopefully he would get here before the choppers. The Crow seemed invincible, but he too would die when they shot him too much. Albrecht now knew how he would get the Crow to take the cure, or rather, how he would get the cure into the Crow. He went to the weapons room in the station and took a rifle. Not the sort of rifle that shoots bullets, but one that shoots darts. He put the vials with the antidote in the darts and loaded them into the rifle. He also took a handgun, just in case. He said goodbye to Sarah and went outside. He could already hear the choppers take off and that made him anxious. He knew he had to hurry now, and so he did. He got in his car and raced to the building. 


	11. The choppers arive

Disclaimer: Just look it up in one of the previous chapters. Saves me the trouble of writing it all the time.  
  
Please let me know what you think by writing review. Thanx…  
  
Chapter 11: The choppers arive.  
  
"How many times must I say this? YOU CAN'T KILL ME!" Countless blows to the head didn't harm the Crow, nor Shelly. These two were equally strong and both mastered the martial arts perfectly. One could see this fight as a fight between good and evil, the Crow of course was evil. If it weren't for the weather and the height of the building, people would pay lots of money to witness a spectacle like this. It would only be shown once in a thousand lifetimes, and then never again. The force that was released with every blow was strong enough to blow up the building. Luckily they were fighting on the roof, so the force could flow freely in the air. The crows circling the building became restless. Their master hadn't spoken to them for too long and they began to fly away. The Crow couldn't control them and fight Shelly at the same time, so he did nothing about it. Suddenly a big ray of light illuminated the sky. It came from a television-chopper that hovered over the building. It annoyed the Crow, and as soon as he got the chance he would make it go away. He kicked Shelly in her stomach and she flew away to the other side of the roof. Immediately the Crow motioned the crows to fly to the chopper. The crows obeyed, flew to the chopper and started to attack the men that were inside. The door was open, so the crows could fly in easily, and when the men closed it, some of the crows sacrificed themselves and flew against the window to break it. The pilot panicked and started to turn the chopper and tried to get away. He didn't notice the building he was flying towards, because some of the crows were still inside and he tried to keep them away from his face. Seconds later, a huge explosion lit up the sky and the chopper fell down to the street, burning. Some people got caught beneath it and they couldn't be saved. Only Eric's and Shelly's crows flew near the building. They didn't have a choice, for they were part of their souls.  
  
Albrecht drove as fast as he could, and now was the first time he hated his car. It didn't nearly go fast enough to stay ahead of the choppers and it could break down at any given time. Albrecht saw the choppers fly over, and he knew that he couldn't make it on time. He could only hope Shelly or the Crow could stall them for as long as possible, so he could get the cure to Eric. The building was very near, when the car finally gave up. It made some noise and then it stopped. Albrecht cursed and used words not even he knew existed. He leaped out of his car and started running as fast as he could. He left his crutches in the car, because they would only slow him down. His legs felt very bad and sore, but he couldn't think about that now. He SHOULDN'T think about that now. His only goal was to get to Eric and Shelly in time. This gave him strength. Like a mother that lifts a car her child lies beneath, he got strength to run as fast as humanly possible. When he got to the building he saw the choppers. They were already on their way to the roof. Albrecht sped into the building and pushed the button for the elevator to come down.  
  
The Crow had Shelly cornered. His hands around her throat, he held her down at the edge of the roof. Her head was hanging of the edge of the roof and she got a bit frightened, because she couldn't get up. Then the choppers arrived at the roof. The Crow was surprised and loosened his grip. That was all Shelly needed and she kicked the Crow of her. He landed not far from her, but he didn't get up immediately. All the searchlights were aimed at him and they blinded him. With his hands in front of his eyes he stood up and walked towards the edge of the roof. 


	12. Concluded

Disclaimer: I've written eleven chapters, so you know what to do if you want to read the disclaimer.  
  
Read and review please…  
  
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Chapter 12: Concluded.  
  
"Put your hands behind your head and lay down!" A voice came from the front- chopper. The Crow stood up and began laughing. He had been there before. It wasn't the first time some cops told him to surrender, and it sure as hell wasn't the first time guns were pointed at him. He wasn't afraid anymore. His mind had been twisted and turned by the awesome power that was hidden all the time he was inside Eric. He couldn't think clearly anymore and he believed he was invulnerable. He could take more bullets now, but he was far from invulnerable. The rifles that were pointed at him could fire twelve rounds in two seconds, and the men that aimed at him, were trained to hit the target. Now that they had been given clearance to kill the subject if necessary, the Crow was doomed. At least he would be if it weren't for Shelly. She too was overwhelmed by the flood of light, but she recovered quickly and resumed fighting the Crow. She had to buy Albrecht some more time, for she knew he was coming. "What the fu…?" One of the cops in the front chopper was surprised when he saw this woman fight with the target. "Base? We've got a situation here." "What kind of situation?" "Some chick is fighting this guy. Please advise." "Wait it out, if it turns bad, or if you get in any kind of danger…shoot them both." The radio began to give a lot of background noise, probably because of the bad weather. "Please say again base. Do we have permission to shoot them both?" "Affirmative." The pilot looked at the rifleman and he looked back. They both had this 'damnit!-look' on their face, because they didn't want to kill innocent people, no matter how strange they would be. "Then we wait….I guess." The rifleman nodded, and looked back over his gun at the two beings.  
  
Albrecht stood in the elevator, looking at the indicator above the doors. He wasn't even halfway up, and time was the one thing he didn't have enough. He cursed softly and shook his head. Flashes of memories appeared in his head. The nice times he had with Eric and Sarah. He now remembered they weren't always bad memories. They often laughed together about the most stupid things, and even now a smile came across Albrecht's face. But then the memories turned bad. He remembered the night Eric and Shelly were attacked. He remembered the many hours he sat beside Shelly's side in the hospital. He remembered going to the funeral of the two lovers. He now remembered all the grief and pain they must have felt, and now they will have to re-live it all. Albrecht tried as hard as he could, but somehow, a part of him knew he would get there too late. At least one of them would slip away tonight, and he would never see Eric or Shelly again. Maybe he wouldn't even see both of them alive once he got to the top. The choppers might have already done their job and took Shelly's life as a bonus. They might already be on their way back to the base. For all Albrecht knew, all his trouble was for nothing.  
  
The two superpowers were exchanging blows constantly. The two were equally strong and the fight could take forever to be finished. One time, Shelly knocked the Crow back and held him down, the Crow always managed to escape Shelly's grip and returned the favour. At this point, both weren't of any danger to the choppers. One of the riflemen however shot at the two. Lucky for them, he missed because of a sudden turn in the fight. "Who the hell fired that shot?!" The pilot of the front chopper was apparently the superior of all the other men. "I'm sorry sir, my finger slipped.." "I'm gonna report that when we get back to base!" "Yes sir.."  
  
The elevator arrived at the rooftop at last. The doors opened and Albrecht saw the two fighting. He immediately reached for his gun and aimed it at the Crow. It was difficult to take an accurate shot, because they were moving all the time. The Crow felt the presence of Albrecht and immediately he began running towards him. Albrecht fired the first round, but it seemed to have no effect. He shot the second and third round, but they only slowed him down for a moment. "Who is that?" "Oh, my God! It's Albrecht, and that freak show is headed straight for him. Men, fire at will!" Shelly heard those words and she jumped between the choppers and the Crow. She felt the Crow was changing and Eric was coming back. She felt correctly, because at that very moment the Crow stopped running and his face became normal again. This didn't stop the riflemen from shooting at him. He turned around and faced the choppers, but he saw Shelly running towards him. "Shelly! NOOO!!" Shots could be heard and Shelly fell to the ground. "Stop shooting God damnit!" Albrecht ran towards Shelly with his arms in the air to indicate the men should stop shooting. They did, but it was too late. Too many bullets had entered and exitted Shelly's body, and not even the healing powers of her crow-self could heal all of them. Eric sat down on his knees and held her head in his hands. "Shelly.." tears went down his face. The two remaining crows landed near to them. Shelly's crow was moving like it was drunk, but in fact it was dieing, as was Shelly. "Er..Eric..Is it you?" "Yes Shelly it's me, the Crow is gone." "Then my work here is done." Before Eric could reply, Shelly's chest stopped moving and she was dead again. Her crow fell down to the ground and was dead also. "Oh, Shelly, what have I done?" Eric hugged Shelly, searching for any sign of life, but it was over. "It isn't your fault Eric. I know it's no kind of comfort, but it isn't your fault." Albrecht put his hand on Eric's shoulder. "NO…Shelly..Not again!" Albrecht didn't know of any words to say now, so he just stood there, silently. "Albrecht, release me.." Albrecht looked surprised. "You want me to let you go?" he released Eric's shoulder. "No, I want you to release me from this…this..Curse." "How do you suppose I do that? I'm not going to shoot you Eric." "That's not necessary. Just shoot the bird." Eric pointed at the crow that sat in front of them. "What?" Albrecht was confused. "If the bird dies, I die. We've been there before." "Are you sure you want that?" Albrecht took his gun in his hand and turned the safety off. "Yes I'm sure! I lost Shelly for the second time. I don't want to live like this anymore!" Albrecht pointed at the bird and pulled the trigger. "I'm sorry Eric." The bird was dead immediately, but Eric was still alive. "Don't be. I'm very grateful. Than...*gasp* Thank you." Eric died and Albrecht stood on the rooftop, alone with two bodies. The choppers had left and he turned away from the dead, walking towards the elevator. He pushed the button for the ground floor.  
  
Back at the station, Sarah came running towards him. He held his head down and still had his gun in his hand. Now he really felt the pain. Not just the pain of his legs, but more the pain of losing two friends. Sarah looked at Albrecht and started crying. Albrecht held her head and she burried her head in Albrecht's stomach. No words were necessary now, their eyes told the whole story.  
  
At the bridge, Shelly and Eric stood in front of the rift. Hand in hand, they entered it. One more look at each other and they were gone to live with each other….Forever….  
  
  
  
  
  
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Whoa! Well…That was kinda…well..IT actually. The End..Fin..No more…. LEAVE A REVIEW WHEN YOU LEAVE!!!!THANX!!!! 


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